


This Sunny Afternoon

by The_Aquarian



Category: Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Super, Dragon Ball Z
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-06
Updated: 2016-07-06
Packaged: 2018-07-21 22:53:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,185
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7408438
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Aquarian/pseuds/The_Aquarian
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Babysitting Pan was something Piccolo never minded. At this point in his long existence, he had become an integral extension of the Son family. Being around Pan and helping look after her was simply his latest role, and it was only natural that he extended that hand of protection and teaching to young Pan.</p>
            </blockquote>





	This Sunny Afternoon

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Cardinal_Daughter](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cardinal_Daughter/gifts).



> One shot set during the beginning of “Resurrection F,” before, during, and right after Shenron is summoned. You do not need to see “Resurrection F” for this story to make sense. Some of the dialogue at the end is from "Resurrection F."
> 
> In “Dragon Ball Z Abridged,” I always thought the mental… relationship/connection between Piccolo and Nail was fantastic – as well as the moments when Kami joined in – so that aspect has been brought over to some degree. Forgive me for any OOC/AU that creates, as it’s not my intention so much as to enhance the story and Piccolo’s character.

Even if he didn’t openly admit it, babysitting Pan was something Piccolo never minded. He could put up a front that he did – that he hated wasting his time keeping an eye on yet _another_ member of the Son family – but, secretly, he enjoyed it. At this point in his long existence, he had become an integral extension of the Son family. Being around Pan and helping look after her was simply his latest role.

When Son Goku was younger, in their fierce battles, Piccolo was something of a trainer, really (because he hated thinking of himself as being defeated). They had both grown stronger fighting each other. Later, Piccolo had taken the then kindergarten-aged Gohan, Goku’s first son, to train after Goku died/went to train with King Kai before (all two) Saiyans invaded. It was the least Piccolo could do at that moment, as it ironically was his hand that had dealt the deathblow to Goku as they fought side by side to stop the Saiyan scout Raditz. (After all those years of being opponents, and it was killing Goku as an _ally_ that finally did the trick.) With Goku being wished between life, death, this planet, and that, Gohan had continued learning from Piccolo (for lack of anyone else who could be a decent teacher and truly test him) for years, and they’d become very close. The closest thing Piccolo had to a friend. Gohan had been little more than a mewling toddler when his training started, often whining and crying over the tiniest bumps and bruises. It was Piccolo who taught him how to be strong (because Goku focused more on himself and his training). Deep down, Piccolo looked at Gohan like a father would look at his own son, and he was proud of the demi-Saiyan he had more or less raised (because of Goku’s frequent absences). When Gohan grew older and looked to things outside of fighting, young Goten, Goku’s second son (conceived at some point when Goku actually went home to his wife once a millennium or so) needed _someone_ to work with him. Once _again_ , Piccolo had (of course) trained the child, building him up, knocking him down, teaching Goten how to become better. Frequently, young Trunks, the child of Bulma and Vegeta, had joined the lessons. Piccolo was happy to see Goten have a friendship with someone near his age, as Gohan had been denied that in many ways.

Therefore, it was only natural that he extended his hand of protection and teaching to young Pan, Goku’s granddaughter and Gohan’s first born.

Videl, Gohan’s wife, wrote down everything Piccolo would need if something happened to baby Pan. Doctors’ emergency phone numbers, when Pan was to eat, her favorite toys, the foods she did and did not like, what she could and couldn’t eat (apparently there was a difference), how much sleep she needed, where fresh diapers and blankets and clothes were… She radiated the anxious happiness of a new mother, though it was a bit annoying. “I don’t know if you’ve had much experience around babies, Piccolo, so let me show you how to hold her.”

“I know how to-”

Piccolo sighed internally as Videl hurriedly walked a few steps and picked up a doll about the size of Pan. She shoved it at Piccolo’s chest. “Okay, you want to always support the head… and make sure the neck…” Videl worked furiously for a moment to get the doll correctly positioned in Piccolo’s hands. He stared at the wall and began counting to 100,000.

 _I have heard that the first child is always the most difficult_ , Kami’s voice said. It rang out clearly in Piccolo’s head. The Namekian sage and former Guardian of Earth had found a post-death home inside Piccolo’s thoughts, just as the Namekian warrior Nail had. At times, having two extra Namekians close was comforting – helpful, even – but frequently Piccolo wished he could get a lobotomy and make them go away.

 _Hey! Not nice to think about lobotomies again!_ Nail’s sharp voice yelled.

 _I agree_ , Kami agreed in his deep, booming tone.

_Aw, Kami, it’s so nice being told I’m right._

_I’d not go_ that _far…_

Namekian fusion and telepathy would truly be the bane of Piccolo’s existence… right behind raising the Son family and their children, of course.

While he was dealing with Nail and Kami going back and forth, Videl was talking – more like lecturing – about Pan. She had finally gotten the Namekian’s hands and arms properly situated on the doll but kept on and on about what could happen _if_ Pan was held wrong. Meanwhile, actual baby Pan was beginning to cry. Videl turned, checking a chart she had by the side of the crib that listed Pan’s feeding times to see if her daughter was crying for food.

Piccolo put the doll aside and picked up the baby. She was wrapped in a cherry blossom pink blanket with a light pink onesie visible around her neck. Instantly the little girl stopped crying. It was like she knew, instinctively, who held her and that no harm would come to her with him near, that he would die to protect her from even the smallest thing. Piccolo felt the connection, too.

Videl turned around after hearing her little girl fall silent. “Oh, Pan!” she gushed. Not once did she notice Piccolo was holding the baby perfectly. He wasn’t about to draw it to her attention, either, as humans (and Saiyans) considered pointing out their mistakes rude. “You are just a little angel!”

Pan reached up with her tiny arms, wiggling her fingers at Piccolo.

“Honey,” Gohan said from the doorway, “I told you Piccolo knows how to hold babies. He spent a lot of time helping out Mom after Goten was born.” Only Piccolo caught his next few words: “And after, since Dad decided not to come home.”

An old wound reopened with Gohan’s words. Sure, Goku had his reasons for not returning to life and staying dead after Cell, yes, but were they noble enough to leave his wife, son, and newborn behind on Earth? (No.) In the end, the planet and the Z-Fighters had needed Goku (again…) to defeat Majin Buu. Whatever Goku’s intentions, his absence hadn’t stopped evil from seeking them all out – and it had only hurt his family so much more. Piccolo had stepped up and in to help Chi-Chi and mentor Goku’s sons during those years. Goten had even called Piccolo “da-da” a few times. No matter how much Piccolo had wanted to help the Son family, particularly his pupil and friend Gohan, he knew he could never mend the hole that was Goku. But damn it, he had tried so hard.

Turning to face his friend, Piccolo frowned. “You had better leave soon. I believe you had reservations at some restaurant…?”

Gohan blushed slightly. “Well, uh-”

“Oh, Gohan!” Videl ran toward her young husband and threw her arms around his neck. “You’re so sweet!”

They didn’t have reservations anywhere but Piccolo knew Gohan well enough to know when the kid – no, a man now – needed a hug. Piccolo wasn’t very capable with emotions – particularly the touchy-feely ways in which humans expressed them – so he made Videl his surrogate. It was a gesture not lost on Gohan, whose warm black eyes met Piccolo’s with a look of gratitude. His wife may have been hugging him for a white lie, but she was hugging him and he needed it. (Besides, a reservation somewhere was only a phone call away.)

“Get out of here, you two. Pan will be fine. I won’t let anything happen to her.”

Videl hesitated a moment, debating whether or not she had told Piccolo everything enough times. Gohan put a hand around her waist. “We know. Thank you,” he said, smiling and steering his wife away from their child and friend.

Piccolo nodded. In his arms, Pan stretched her little arms in a yawn and snuggled against his chest. “You’re welcome.”

 

*&*

The afternoon sun was warm but not hot. After her bottle, Piccolo had placed Pan in a rocking crib and carried her outside. Beside a large, golden (absolutely hideous, gauche, and screaming of the nouveau riche) statue of her grandfather, Mr. Satan, and under a large shade tree, Piccolo rocked the cradle with his foot. It was peaceful. Whenever he felt that, he knew it meant all hell would soon break loose.

Pan whimpered and Piccolo leaned forward to check on her. She opened her black eyes sleepily for a moment.

 _That child is adorable_ , Kami whispered in Piccolo’s head.

“She’s something, that’s for sure.” Pan grabbed at his finger and hugged it close to her cheek. “Who would have thought these humans could ever make something so innocent?”

_Such is the way of life. Birth can bring love, create new treasures, make futures never before thought possible, even take away past mistakes and erase faults._

Pan laughed, as if she knew what Kami had said. “You’re waxing poetic, old man,” Piccolo chuckled. He looked at her face for a moment, then glanced around before leaning in and making some silly faces at her. Pan’s smiled spread and her laughter filled the afternoon. Again grabbing onto her guardian’s hand, she pulled it down as a pillow before falling asleep once more.

“I’ll definitely be seeing you plenty, young one,” Piccolo said softly. “No loneliness for probably another twenty years.” He smiled at Pan, who had rolled her head to rest on his finger.

_Aww, Piccolo. You don’t ever need to feel lone-_

“Oh, God, shut up, Nail!”

 _If I could, I would have done it by now_ , Kami said with exhaustion in his tone. Piccolo could feel his blood pressure rising and his calm dissolving rapidly. _After all,_ you _are the one who merged with him. It is_ you _who must bear that burden... even if I was unfairly roped into it._

_I didn’t know you were often lonely or feared that in the future. It is possibly for Namekians to have children, and you are always welcome up on the lookout with me… and Mr. Popo._

_"Dende!"_ Piccolo screamed, jumping up. “Who the hell invited you into this conversation? My head is not some damn… _party line_ for every Namekian to talk on!”

Pan’s wails silenced all four of the voices.

 _Way to go, Piccolo_ , Nail said, his tone sarcastic as always. _You woke the baby!_

“Shut up, Nail!”

_Perhaps a soothing lulla-_

“Shut up, Dende, and get the hell _out of my head!"_

 _Now, now! There’s no need to be rude!_ , Kami scolded.

“Old man, I _will_ find a way to hurt you if you don’t shut up, too.”

And then there was silence. Lovely, wonderful silence. Except for the screaming baby.

Carefully Piccolo picked up Pan and cradled her against his chest. “I’m so sorry, little one,” he whispered as he gently rubbed her back. “It’s okay. No more talking.” He said it more to Dende, Nail, and Kami than the baby.

Pan leaned her tiny head back against one of Piccolo’s palms and looked up at him. Her black eyes were full of awe as she took in the green-skinned Namekian, holding her so delicately in his dreadful hands that had killed thousands, like she was the greatest treasure he had ever known. No fear, no doubt, nothing but peace passing between them. She smiled at him. Giggling, Pan raised both her hands, bopping them lightly on either side of Piccolo’s chin.

“Just like your grandfather. You think it’s fun to beat me up,” he chuckled. His days of fighting against Goku were long in the past. (At least, he hoped they were.)

Nodding her head forward, Pan leaned into his chest again. After a while, Piccolo started to hum. It was an old song, one that his bones knew even if his mind didn’t. He had never had someone sing a lullaby to him, never heard a bedtime story or anything of that sort. That wasn’t how King Piccolo reared children. From the moment he was born, he was made to fight, an instrument of death, later retuned and reshaped into whatever he was now. Guardian, trainer, warrior… _friend_.

When Pan’s breathing deepened, he placed her sleeping form in the crib and began rocking her again. It was still a nice day. He reclined his head and stared at the shades of green in the tree above them.

The whole world seemed too good to be true. That knot of worry in the pit of his stomach tightened.

 

*&*

A few hours later, Piccolo heard Gohan's voice. "Hey… Sorry; we didn’t mean to get back home so late." He was loaded down with purchases from their day out.

Just as Piccolo was about to reply, Videl ran toward him. “Hi, little Pan! Sorry Mommy wasn’t here sooner.” She scooped the baby up in an effortless move. “Unkie Piccolo’s face must’ve been real scary, huh?”

Piccolo turned his head away, arms crossed, looking annoyed but feeling his heart nearly burst because of Videl’s "Unkie Piccolo.” Of course he would never admit it, not even to himself later, nor to the voices of Nail and Kami, but he loved that child.

 _If only every day could be so pleasant_ , Piccolo thought. The air was warm but not humid, the tree offering just enough shade without being cool. Summer was nearly upon them, and its smell of grass and yeast and heat was beginning to waft through the breeze. Videl had politely invited him to dinner that night, even though she knew he didn't really eat. He'd accepted, grateful for the fellowship.

A cold shock ran through him. _No, not now..._ , he thought, hoping his instincts were wrong. He closed his eyes for a moment, only to be startled into reality by Gohan’s voice.

"You look really worried. What’s wrong?"

"I’m sensing some bad energy in that direction." He indicated south.

Gohan paused. "Huh. I do, too, now that you mention it. But what could it be?"

 _He's slacked off on his training,_ Piccolo thought. He knew what it was but he didn't want to scare Videl. Pan was beginning to cry. Could she feel it? The looming darkness? The coming doom of whatever wishes were being granted? Based on the heart of the wisher, that degree of positive or negative energy crossed into Piccolo. And these wishes... "Go take care of things. I'll wait outside to see if I can find out what's happening."

Reluctantly Gohan nodded and went inside to drop off the packages.

The feeling eased somewhat. Piccolo relaxed. Could it have been a false alarm, a good heart, two good wishes?

“How was Pan today? Did she behave? Any trouble?” Videl asked as she comforted her baby, uneasily looking around.

“Not a bit.” Piccolo stood. "I'll get this crib back in-"

Another shock ran through him. The blue sky above dissolved into a swirling storm of thunder and lightning, yet no rain fell. _No…_ It wasn't a false alarm. He'd been right. Gohan ran to Piccolo's side. He knew that look on his sensei’s face. “Piccolo! What is it?”

“I think… No, I _know_ someone’s gathered the dragon balls.” He met his former pupil’s worried gaze. “Has Bulma said anything to you? Goku? Vegeta? Krillin?”

Gohan slowly shook his head. “No. No one’s needed them since that battle with Beerus at Bulma's party. It’s not one of us."

"Could it… be someone else?" Videl asked, fear clinging to each word. "Some _thing_ else?”

The sky turned black as midnight above them. "It just got dark." Gohan kept his arms loose and was prepared to move if needed. He cast a glance to Videl and Pan, his eyes meeting hers with the spirit of comrades, remembering their days fighting of fighting together. She turned to head inside to put the baby down. "Could it be...?"

"Yes. It's definitely Shenron." Piccolo kept looking to the south.

They waited several tense minutes, thunder rattling all the while, streaks of lightning casting odd forms around them. If they were lesser men, they might have been scared.

Piccolo chuckled once. "You used to hate storms as a kid. Terrified of them."

"You leaving me out in a barren wasteland didn't exactly help that fear," Gohan said, walking over to his sensei.

"Third or fourth time I left you out there, you conquered your fear. Still suck at dodging, though."

As quickly as the sky had darkened it was light again. Just as Piccolo was going to lie that they were wrong in their assumption, that it was a freak storm, that Gohan could peaceably go back inside with his family and be happy and know the world was safe and he didn't have to fight another battle for this planet or any other ever again, the same electric shock ran through him a third time.

 _Piccolo, I need you, now_ , Dende said, his voice serious.

 _That bad, huh?_ he answered. _I’ll be at the lookout in a few minutes._

"It's gone now. Wonder what that was about." Gohan relaxed a bit.

 _Something tells me we're in trouble,_ Piccolo thought soberly to Nail, Kami, and Dende. Sometimes it was okay to have voices in your head - every once in a while, they could give good advice, particularly if fighting was soon coming. "Gohan,” he said softly, “I must leave.”

“Then that was…?”

“Yes. Shenron.” Piccolo didn’t want to worry him, though, so he lied. “It was likely peaceful wishes. We can’t worry about them now. Take care of your family."

The former pupil – now father, husband, and friend – nodded. “Thanks for looking after Pan. Videl and I, we appreciate it. You're welcome here whenever. I hope you know that. Videl will be calling you often to babysit, I fear.”

A wry smile crossed Piccolo’s lips. He clapped a hand firmly on Gohan’s shoulder. _Good. Still in shape for when the fight comes._ “Anytime, kid. You know that. Just don't make me raise this one, okay?”

Gohan laughed. "Hey, I turned out pretty good!" He grew serious again; at this point, he knew when Piccolo was lying to him. “If something _is_ going on…” Gohan’s black eyes looked at the once again clear sky. Calming sunshine was coming through the leaves again, enough to make the last few minutes seem like a dreadful mirage. But Shenron had definitely come and was now definitely gone.

“You’ll be the first I tell," he lied. The thought of Gohan ever fighting again hurt Piccolo worse than a punch through his body, and he'd had plenty of those. When might be the last time? Hadn't the kid fought enough in wars he had no business in? So Piccolo would protect Gohan, Videl, and Pan with every bit of life in his body, so that there may not be more battles. “For now, take care of your family. The last thing I want is another son fighting in this world.”

Piccolo felt Dende beckoning again and flew away to the lookout before Gohan could say another word.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading! I appreciate any and all comments - good, bad, I destroyed the characters, they were okay, my grammar is terrible... Please let me know!
> 
> For Woubazoid, who has reawakened my love for Dragon Ball Z and always finds ways to remind me all the squares can make a circle, no matter what.


End file.
